SS Leporis: Vampire Double Star System
December 7, 2011
Super-sharp images of the unusual vampire double star system SS Leporis made from observations made with the VLT Interferometer at ESO’s Paranal Observatory were used to create this video. The remarkable image sharpness — 50 times sharper than images from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope — not only allowed the stars to be clearly separated and their orbital motion followed, but also also allowed the size of the red giant to be measured more accurately than ever before. The system consists of a red giant star orbiting a hotter companion. credit: ESA
Topics:
Technology Internet, Space, Astronomy, Space exploration, Lepus constellation, Science and technology in Europe, European Space Agency, Cerro Paranal, Paranal Observatory, Very Large Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, European Southern Observatory, Telescopes
